Go Back

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

This glistening jewel will dress up any breakfast or brunch. Filled with fresh cranberries and a kiss of fresh orange, it's a party on a plate. For those who eat a gluten free diet, you can easily trade out the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten free flour. Be sure to read the note at the end of the recipe.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Large Orange Zested and juiced
  • 1 1/2 cups Cranberries Fresh or frozen (thawed)
  • 1 cup sugar divided
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange rind From the large orange
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Fresh orange juice From the large orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 Large egg
  • 1/4 cup Fresh orange juice From the large orange
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 3 tablespoons butter melted

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Rinse and sort cranberries, removing any that might be damaged or spent. Drain well and blot dry.
  • Generously butter an 8 inch cake pan or an 8 inch square baking dish.
  • Arrange the cranberries in the bottom of the baking dish.
  • Using a microplane or zest grater, remove 1 teaspoon of the zest from the orange. Juice the orange.
  • In a small bowl, combine half of the sugar (1/2 cup) and the orange zest. Mix well, using your fingers if necessary, until the zest is evenly distributed in the sugar.
  • Sprinkle the sugar/orange zest mixture evenly over the cranberries.
  • Drizzle several tablespoons of fresh orange juice over the cranberries and sugar in the pan.
  • In a small bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar (1/2 cup), baking powder, salt, and nuts. Stir together until well blended.
  • In another bowl, whisk the egg until well blended. Add 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup orange juice, and melted butter. Stir to combine.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring only until the dry ingredients are moistened.
  • Drop batter, by spoonfuls, on to the cranberries. Spread to even out, making sure to spread the batter to the edge of the pan.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Invert the cake onto a serving plate immediately upon removing from oven.

Notes

When you are replacing all-purpose flour with a gluten free flour mix, it is important to trade by weight and not volume, as gluten free grains are heavier than all-purpose flour. If you don't, you are likely to end up with a much heavier, more crumbly and dry finished result. If you don't have a scale to weigh your grains, my experience has been that the average difference is 1 to 2 tablespoons per cup less GF flour than the recipe calls for.  For this recipe I would suggest measuring out the 1 1/2 cups of GF flour called for - and then removing 2 heaping tablespoons of flour before combining it with the other ingredients.